The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-12-05
A CHAT WITH MIR. REED.
The Maine Congressman Indicates some OF
the Surplus Reduction Difficulties.


Washington Special in Philadelphia Press.
In conversation to-day Hon. Thomas B. Reed,
of Maine said: / have no desire to express any
opinion as TO the prospects of legislation this
winter in regard to the surplus. Probably
can very little further into the milestone
than you can. It would be good thing, how
ever, if the people of the United states could
see the real difficulties that are to be met Ii
real understanding OF the situation could be nao
it would go far TO insure reasonable treatment
OF congressional action Everyood dyo o agrees f
that surplus, not far from 500, O0O. O00 Is
upon US, and ought to be reduced. But
when it comes to the question OF how
to do it, the trouble begins. At the very outset
the party conditions very strange and
anomalous. The responsibility is, of course, on
the party in power The Democratic party has
at least ten majority, and perhaps fifteen But
it is divided into Democrats inclined to free
trade and Democrats inclined to protection, the
free-traders being in large majority: In caucus
Mr. Carlisle will be nominated II elected he
viii appoint committee on ways and means
from his wing of ;he party, which Will act pre-
cisely as his other ways and means committees
have done; that is to say, produce bill which
has only minority back of 1t. a bill which can.
not pass. On the other hand, the majority or
the House, which could pass a bill, not having
the committee of ways ana means, cannot pro
duce bill at all This is parliamentary difh-
Guilty arising out of the division in the Demo
cratic party.
But there are intrinsic difficulties, besides.
The first man l meet says reduce the sugar
duty. That looks very simple But in 1883,
that was tried. and the whole Democratic party
voted against it. Why2 The excuse was that
it was a revenue duty. The reason was that
Louisiana was Democratic State. There
also many protectionists who would vote to re-
tain the full sugar duty from sincere belief,
justified by recent discoveries, that we are on
the verge of producing from sorghum and otner
sources all the sugar our country can consume.
You will remember. too that the admlnlstra-
ton, in more than one Treasury utterance, has
demanded the retention of the sugar duty.
The next scheme is to reduce protective du-
ties But would that reduce the surplus! What
articles imported multiplied by the duty 1t
you reduce the duty you reduce the multplier,
which would bc all right, if you did not increase
the multiplcand. But when you reduce the du-
ty you necessarily increase the amount import
ed. Indeed, that must be your very object
Why reduce duties if you don't want more for
eign goodsl But not left to conjecture
as to resulte. A small example will make this
plain. By Interpretation of the law or 1883
worsted goods duties have been reduced. With
what RESULT Why the revenue has doubled. II
we do the same with other articles we shall nave
more surplus rather than less.
What effect such changes would have on the
business of the country just at this moment
leave business men TO conjecture and to dread
Another proposition is to take the reduction from
the internal revenue. There is very wide
agreement to the tobacco tax, and if the
Speaker would allow proposition to take that
thirty millions off it would easily pass But he
probably intends to use that as a weapon to at
tack protection under the guise of reduction OF
surplus. The whole internal revenue tax Is
about a hundred million. When you come to
the question of reduction of the revenue
by taking off the whisky tax. one man
thinks that it has the ad Vantage of abolishing
manv offices. of leaving the trade Of the coun-
try undisturbed and Miss Willard, representing
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union be-
lieves that it will release the government from
q participation in the profits of manufacture
which government ought to couutenance. On
the other hand, that tax is defended as one
easily collected, and much talk is made about
leaving off the tax on liquor and putting 1t on
clothes. The manufacturers, Also of whisky
desire the continued, because it enables
those of large capital to absorb the business
The expedient of creating a free list, with
coal, WOOL salt lumber, iron ore and fish there
on, is. of course, only attacking protectio In
detail. You see by this slight enumeration
what the difficulties If there was sincere
single desire to reduce the surplus which IS
what the country really wants, there would be
but little difficulty: but many men want to
the reduction OF the surplus which every
body agrees to a a lever to do something which
only a free trade minority wants to do that the
people OF this country liable to be deceived
unless they keep their eyes on the main question,
which is the reduction of the surplus without
disturbance of the Industries of the country.